When does Euro 2012 start? Everything you need to know about the European football championships

The key facts to this summer's big tournament in Poland and Ukraine

It's shaping up to be a fine summer of football thanks to the European Championships in Poland and the Ukraine.

Roy Hodgson will be leading England for the first time, and the Republic of Ireland will also be up for the craic.

Here's everything you need to know:

When does it start?

The tournament proper gets underway on Friday, June 8 with an opening ceremony at the National Stadium in Warsaw. We're not sure what it will involve, but potatoes are a good bet.

The opening game between co-hosts Poland and 2004 winners Greece will then kick-off at 5.00pm GMT.

How long does it go on for?

Most of the month. The final itself will be held on Sunday, July 1 in Kiev.

Where is it being held?

The National Stadium in Warsaw

The tournament is being co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine, so there's a fair bit of travelling involved. There are four stadiums in each country: Warsaw, Gdansk, Poznan and Wroclaw in Poland; Lviv, Kiev, Donetsk and Kharkiv in Ukraine.

Who's playing?

Spanish fly guys: the defending champions will be hard to beat

A total of 16 teams qualified for the finals. They are (in alphabetical order):

Croatia

Czech Republic

Denmark

England

France

Germany

Greece

Italy

Netherlands

Poland

Portugal

Republic of Ireland

Russia

Spain

Sweden

Ukraine

How does the tournament work?

The teams are arranged in four groups of four (England are in Group D with France, Ukraine and Sweden). Each team plays each other once, with the top two then progressing to the knockout stages.

The winner of Group A will then play the runner-up of Group B and vice versa. Ditto Group C and Group D.

The winners of those four games then go through to the semi-finals, and the two winners of those games will contest the final.

What time are the games?

During the group stages, games kick off at 5.00pm GMT and 7.45pm GMT. The final two games in each group kick off simultaneously at 7.45pm. All subsequent games will also kick off at that time.

When do England play?

Getty

New boss Roy Hodgson: England expects

The Three Lions' first game is against France at 5.00pm on Monday, June 11. The second game is against Sweden at 7.45pm on Friday, June 15. And the final game against Ukraine is at 7.45pm on Tuesday, June 19.

If - and it's a big if - they progress from the group, England's quarter-final will either be on June 23 or June 24. But let's not get ahead of ourselves here...

How can I watch it on television?

BBC

Gary Lineker: anchorman

The entire tournament is being shared between the BBC and ITV. Every game will be televised so the chances are you won't miss a kick if you don't want to.

But I'll be at work and can't get to a television!

Not to worry - you'll get unrivalled coverage here on MirrorFootball. We'll have the best reporters in the land out on the ground in Poland and Ukraine so you'll always be up to date.

We'll also have our 'Today at the Euros' live-blog running throughout.